Front shocks
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- Weekend Camper
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2014 8:35 pm
- B190 Year: 1966
- WBCCI: 0
- Location: Crossville, TN
Front shocks
Here I am again, asking the dumb woman questions. Last fall when I purchased new tires I was told the front shocks were half gone. Since I plan to head west in April I would like everything to be okay. I was quoted a price for front shocks installed of under $200. Heavy duty would be around $400. I was reading the comments about Bilstein shocks. Would that be what the tire place means by heavy duty? Or are there even more choices? Help!
- lido14co
- Seasoned Traveler
- Posts: 259
- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:12 pm
- B190 Year: 1992
- WBCCI: 0
- Location: Los Osos, CA
Re: Front shocks
Bilstein makes a heavy duty and a comfort ride shock. Get the heavy duty. I ordered mine online and had my local tire shop install them for a hundred bucks. A set of four is running $355 on eshocks http://www.eshocks.com/bil_veh.asp?Mode ... &SubChar=Q. I'd recommend replacing all four but doing just the fronts should make driving more pleasurable. Happy trails!
Cliff
Cliff
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- Weekend Camper
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2014 8:35 pm
- B190 Year: 1966
- WBCCI: 0
- Location: Crossville, TN
Re: Front shocks
Thanks for the advice. Since only the front shocks are bad, I'm only having them replaced. $405 installed for the Bilstein. They're on order for me. I know I'm paying more than you guys did, but that's part of being a woman.
Re: Front shocks
I don't know how you know only the fronts need replacing. I did all 4 last fall and all 4 were worn, original Ford shocks. You might try a local community college with an auto tech program. Sometimes they will install for free as a training project for their students. BTW, it is a terrible job even for us men, so a good decision on your part.
Re: Front shocks
Last fall I decided to upgrade the suspension in my 93 B190 based on the posts in this forum. I've put about 30k miles on the RV over the last 5 years and have experienced a few control issues while driving in high crosswind areas. I couldn't decide what was the best approach, Bilstein shocks or Helwig stabalizer bars. So I decided to have both done and then I could just forget it.
I ordered front and rear Bilstein shocks from http://tirerack.com total cost was about $370 dollars. The front shocks were in stock but there was about a 4 week back order on the rear shocks.
I also ordered front and rear Helwig stabalizer bars through Amazon. The total cost for them wad about $400.
Once I had the shocks and stabilizers in hand I called around and found a place that would install the shocks and stabilizers for $500. Not cheap but I thought they were reliable.
I did these enhancements right before I put the B190 in storage for the winter so I put very few miles, less that 100, on the vechicle. I could however tell that the ride was stiffer and it looked like the B190 rode a little bit higher. I'll post some feedback on this forum after I complete my summer trek.
Good luck with your upgrades! I think both shocks and stabilizers are great enhancements.
Mike
I ordered front and rear Bilstein shocks from http://tirerack.com total cost was about $370 dollars. The front shocks were in stock but there was about a 4 week back order on the rear shocks.
I also ordered front and rear Helwig stabalizer bars through Amazon. The total cost for them wad about $400.
Once I had the shocks and stabilizers in hand I called around and found a place that would install the shocks and stabilizers for $500. Not cheap but I thought they were reliable.
I did these enhancements right before I put the B190 in storage for the winter so I put very few miles, less that 100, on the vechicle. I could however tell that the ride was stiffer and it looked like the B190 rode a little bit higher. I'll post some feedback on this forum after I complete my summer trek.
Good luck with your upgrades! I think both shocks and stabilizers are great enhancements.
Mike